They say that there is such a thing in Western Washington called the “Seattle Freeze” where people in our great city (or greater metropolitan area) tend to be a little unfriendly and cold to strangers. I am happy to report that the only thing that’s cold at Icicle is the beer on tap.

Icicle is a must stop for anyone venturing to Leavenworth, especially on a beautiful, sunny, fall day. They have a great outdoor seating area that’s perfect for summer and fall. Speaking of, if you have never made it up there in the fall, I HIGHLY recommend a day trip sometime.

Matt and I have ventured up to Leavenworth a couple of times together and we make a point every time of stopping at Icicle. Its never disappointed. This was the first time that we actually sat inside though, and I have to say, I really like their open seating upstairs. You can get a great view of both the street below you and the brew system/cellar storage on the other side.

Now on to the main event, the beer. Our first stop on this trip was to grab a beer when we first got into town. So we each only had one. I went with the Munchen Haus Anniversary Pale and while it looks like I accidentally checked it in without a rating, I thought this was a wonderful beer. It had kind of a smooth creaminess of a cream ale, which I really liked.

After walking around town a little, we decided to grab lunch at the Bavarian Bistro down the street. Since I knew I was going to write this up, I felt it was necessary to try the Icicle Bootjack IPA that was on tap, also a winner. Its a well balanced IPA, not to heavy handed on the hops.

Since this is getting a little long winded I’m going to go ahead and skip to the end. We ended up stopping at Icicle right before we left to split a sampler. We started with the Colchuck Raspberry Wheat, while I’m not a huge fan of wheat beers, this one is refreshing, and would be a great beer for the non beer drinker in your group. Next up was the Prieve Porter, a good choice for the porter lover in your crew. Then the Colchuck Citris Wheat, which was probably my favorite of the sampler. We finished with the Relikt Alt, this one is a little bit different and maybe not for everyone. If you are new to beer, try a sample of this one before you commit to a pint.

Overall, my favorite beer of the day was the Munchen Haus Anniversary Pale, which makes me happy, because I love a good seasonal beer.

As we slow down and take our time with this journey we notice something unique happening. In the far distance we notice a beautiful sound being emitted from a friendly building. As we get closer, we notice that the decibels are getting higher and higher. Once we get to the source of the divine tone, we instantly fell in love. We have arrived at Decibel Brewing.

I love being able to go to soft openings of brewers. It makes me feel like I am part of the ‘in’ crowd. I got an email early last week from the guys at Decibel inviting myself and any of my friends to check out the soft opening of the brewery. So obviously Sam-wise and I, plus 2 of our friends headed that way.

The brewery itself is in a nondescript building, nestled snugly to an auto body shop. Once you walk into the brewery, you’ll notice a bar lined with Christmas lights and wide open spaces. On the far back wall you’ll see all the people who supported the brewery via the kickstarter campaign. While you there, look for the handsome ‘Holt’ on the wall.

I know what people really want to read about though, the beer. I really enjoyed the beer. Although I was very disappointed that they ran out of pale before I arrived, but I’m sure I can forgive them. They’re brewing on a 2 barrel system, which means they’ll occasionally run out of a certain beer. But they still had 7 others on tap, which shows that they have been prepping for this soft opening for a while. When I encounter soft openings, usually there are a handful of beers, but 7 is very very impressive.

The beers they had were an IPA, Cream, Belgium Farmhouse, Stout, Alt, Dark Ale, and Wit. Sam was a big fan of the IPA and Cream ale. I didn’t get around to the IPA (Very weird, but shush), but I enjoyed the cream thoroughly. It had a nice foaming feel to it with just a hint of the butteryness you can get from pilsner malt. Very tasty. I also enjoy the Alt, which really reminds me of the classic German flavor, a bit sweet with a malty body.

If you’re in the Bothell area why not check out Decibel (Or in Mill Creek since they’re right there too!).